A heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head has a protective multilayer confined to a window of the disk-facing surface of the slider that surrounds the near-field transducer (NFT) end and write pole end. The protective multilayer is made up of a first film of silicon nitride directly on and in contact with the NFT end and the write pole end and a second film of a metal oxide on and in contact with the silicon nitride film. The silicon nitride film is preferably formed by RIBD but is thin enough so that it does not contain any significant amount of other compounds. The metal oxide is preferably silicon dioxide, or alternatively an oxide of hafnium, tantalum, yttrium or zirconium, and together with the silicon nitride film provides a protective multilayer of sufficient thickness to be optically transparent to radiation and resistant to thermal oxidation.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head that includes a near-field transducer (NFT) with a trailing bevel. Also disclosed are sliders and data storage devices comprising those HAMR heads, and methods of manufacturing HAMR heads with NFTs having trailing bevels. A HAMR head comprises a waveguide core, a main pole, and a NFT comprising a trailing beveled edge at an acute angle to an air-bearing surface (ABS) of the HAMR head. A method of fabricating a HAMR head comprises depositing material for a NFT, creating a trailing-side surface of the NFT, and creating a trailing beveled edge in the trailing-side surface of the NFT at the ABS, and forming a dielectric layer over the trailing beveled edge. The trailing beveled edge is at an acute angle to the ABS, and a remainder of the trailing-side surface of the NFT is substantially perpendicular to the ABS.

The present disclosure generally relates to a magnetic recording head for a magnetic media drive. The magnetic recording head comprises a near field transducer (NFT), a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) device, and a waveguide structure coupled between the NFT and the VCSEL device. The waveguide structure comprises a plurality of waveguide channels and a multimodal interference (MMI) combiner coupled to the waveguide channels. One or more of a curvature, a path length, and a propagation length of each of the waveguide channels is optimized such that each waveguide channel is controllable, or otherwise phase coherent with adjacent waveguide channels. The VCSEL device is capable of emitting a plurality of lasers through the plurality of waveguide channels, and the plurality of lasers are phase coherent when input into the MMI combiner. The MMI combiner combines a power of the plurality of lasers, which is output to the NFT.

The present disclosure generally relates to a magnetic recording head for a magnetic media drive. The magnetic recording head comprises a near field transducer (NFT), a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) device, and a waveguide structure coupled between the NFT and the VCSEL device. The waveguide structure comprises a plurality of waveguide channels and a multimodal interference (MMI) combiner coupled to the waveguide channels. One or more of a curvature, a path length, and a propagation length of each of the waveguide channels is optimized such that each waveguide channel is controllable, or otherwise phase coherent with adjacent waveguide channels. The VCSEL device is capable of emitting a plurality of lasers through the plurality of waveguide channels, and the plurality of lasers are phase coherent when input into the MMI combiner. The MMI combiner combines a power of the plurality of lasers, which is output to the NFT.

A hard disk drive (HDD) includes a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head. The HAMR head includes one or more features comprising a nanoparticle-reinforced plasmonic matrix. The nanoparticle-reinforced plasmonic matrix comprises a plasmonic metal and a plurality of nanoparticles dispersed in the plasmonic metal. The nanoparticles comprise a transparent conductive oxide.

A hard disk drive (HDD) includes a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head. The HAMR head includes one or more features comprising a nanoparticle-reinforced plasmonic matrix. The nanoparticle-reinforced plasmonic matrix comprises a plasmonic metal and a plurality of nanoparticles dispersed in the plasmonic metal. The nanoparticles comprise a transparent conductive oxide.

A heat-assisted magnetic recording head includes a slider body, a laser, a submount, and a laser heater. The slider body is configured to contain components of the heat-assisted magnetic recording head. The laser is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation. The submount is configured to couple the laser to the slider body. The laser heater is configured to apply heat to the laser. The laser heater disposed on a surface of the slider body.

A heat-assisted magnetic recording head includes a slider body, a laser, a submount, and a laser heater. The slider body is configured to contain components of the heat-assisted magnetic recording head. The laser is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation. The submount is configured to couple the laser to the slider body. The laser heater is configured to apply heat to the laser. The laser heater disposed on a surface of the slider body.

A heat-assisted magnetic recording head comprises a near-field transducer (NFT). The NFT comprises a thermally-stabilized plasmonic alloy, wherein the thermally-stabilized plasmonic alloy comprises a plasmonic metal and at least one alloying metal.

A heat-assisted magnetic recording head comprises a near-field transducer (NFT). The NFT comprises a thermally-stabilized plasmonic alloy, wherein the thermally-stabilized plasmonic alloy comprises a plasmonic metal and at least one alloying metal.